Wildlife Vets Namibia

04/12/2025

🐾 International Cheetah Day 🐆

Today we celebrate the world’s fastest land mammal, the cheetah! Namibia is home to the largest population of free-ranging cheetahs in the world.

Cheetahs are well known for their beautiful spotted coats. Their spotty appearance provide them with a good camouflage since the spots break up its outline (called disruptive coloration). But did you know that these spots are part of their skin as well? This cheetah came to Rhino Park Veterinary Clinic, where Dr. Ulf operated on its fractured leg. With the limb shaved for surgery, you can clearly see the spots on the skin!

03/12/2025

Three months ago, Agra Safari Den and Auas VetMed came to the rescue when Mariska's MTM Case-Gard was accidentally flattened (yup, it was driven over...). But thanks to the sturdy design, all the drug bottles inside survived! We could not find a suitable replacement anywhere, but they surprised us with three brand-new, branded cases!

Since then, the new case has been through many immobilizations and captures already and is still going strong. We just wanted to say a huge thanks again to Agra Safari Den and Auas VetMed!!🙏 We can now officially confirm the case is elephant-proof too 🐘😄 This big bull was moved to another area.

02/12/2025

Are you looking for a nice Christmas gift? Or do you need a calendar yourself to keep 2026 organized? We are excited to share that Emily Tubbesing, Ulf’s daughter, has created her very first calendars! As a talented nature artist and photographer, she made two designs:

🦒 Wildlife and Nature; breathtaking wildlife and nature photography
🌿 Abstract; compositions inspired by patterns and textures found in nature (sneek peak in the comments)

You can contact Emily directly via her Instagram page or via email: [email protected]. The calendars are also available at Rhino Park Veterinary Clinic and Zero Waste Store Namibia in Windhoek. Alternatively, feel free to contact us. We can bring calendars along to Germany and the Netherlands in December and sent it to you via post.

Please note, there is limited stock available so don’t wait too long!

29/11/2025

Wauw, on the front page of the Republikein! Thank you for your support, we are incredibly proud to see our work being highlighted!

Click here to view the article (in Afrikaans):
https://heyzine.com/flip-book/a1dbbb61d1.html?fbclid=IwdGRjcAOXbetjbGNrA5dtbmV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHi10NsBFExuscT4_7ET8ARmXI_HJrWm7pRbBRaPMfjkjssRugtat80ibBi-8_aem_Hy1Y1OMcKHmioZtzF3CWBA

🇳🇦 🐘🦏🦛🐃🦒🦓🐆🦌 🇳🇦

'n Namibiese wildlewe veearts word as een van tien mense in die wêreld vir sy beduidende bydrae tot dierewelsyn en wildbewaring benoem. Dr. Emma Kirchner resenseer Piet Van Rooyen se nuutste roman, Hinterland, ‘n voortsetting van sy fassinasie met Afrika en sy inwoners.

https://heyzine.com/flip-book/a1dbbb61d1.html

29/11/2025

Worth Wild Africa UK stands a chance to win £1,000!

This incredible project helps to fund our veterinary supplies and equipment for charity cases, such as treating animals caught in snares or caring for orphans. We would appreciate your vote, the more votes the better 😃☑️

PS: for location, scroll to the bottom to select 'international' when you live outside the UK.

Click here to vote: https://movementforgood.com/index.php?cn=1206285&ct=animals_and_wildlife&i=1764258347-15094.gif&utm_source=holiday%20card&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=M4G2025card&utm_id=M4G2025card&fbclid=IwY2xjawOXa8tleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAwzNTA2ODU1MzE3MjgAAR5v5kjiByD5Qdeoh9vHyvc-sayMTLcb9LborsSr7NsLNv5KiGzOjlo_SCRt2g_aem_KHb4HyJ6XIFn4XvadJzlYw

28/11/2025

Our November newsletter is online! In this edition we have a wide range of interesting topics:

🙊 Animal communication is a lot more complex than you might think!
✅ Dr Ulf is one of the finalists of the Worldwide Vets Golden Star Award. Visit this link to vote for him! https://www.worldwide-vets.org/goldenstaraward
📆 Emily Tubbesing has designed two amazing calendars; if you are looking for a nice Christmas present, or if you want to keep 2026 organized contact us! The calendars are also available at Rhino Park Veterinary Clinic and Zero Waste Store Namibia.
🎓 We hope to organize our Post-Mortem and Animal Crime Scene and Evidence Handling courses again next year. Should you be interested, let us know.
🦠 We give an update on Rift Valley Fever, after an outbreak was confirmed in South-Africa.

Link to the newsletter: https://wildlifevetsnamibia.com/documentation/newsletters

27/11/2025

🦒 Long necks on the move! 🦒

Last month we relocated 6 giraffes to the Erongo Mountain Nature Conservancy, thanks to the generous donation by Osino Gold Exploration. This important contribution will help strengthen and grow the giraffe population in the area.

When we move giraffes, we usually focus on subadults and young adults, but this time we had the full spectrum; from big cows, to bigger bulls and a juvenile! Giraffe capture is always exciting and challenging, but this one tested our skills for sure! But seeing them safely released in their new home always makes everything worth it!

A huge thanks to everyone who helped during the capture, the Osino Gold Exploration and Mining team did a brilliant job, especially since it was their first time catching giraffes! A big thanks also to the Giraffe Conservation Foundation for joining us in the field and tagging these giraffes. Thanks to the GPS ear tags, all six giraffes are now well monitored. And a special shout-out to pilot Jockel from Du Preez Wild for safely guiding the giraffes into the open plains!

We hope you enjoy the video!

26/11/2025

Esta é a nossa terceira newsletter angolana, feita especialmente para os produtores angolanos de vida selvagem! Nesta edição:

🐘👣 Descubra factos interessantes sobre as patas dos elefantes. Sabia que eles conseguem andar quase silenciosamente?
🐘🚛 Explicamos como funciona a translocação de elefantes.
🌳☣️ Leia um resumo do nosso artigo sobre a toxicidade do tanino.
👋🙋‍♂️ Por fim, para aqueles que ainda não nos conhecem, incluímos uma breve apresentação da nossa equipa!

Sinta-se à vontade para partilhar esta newsletter. Também pode encontrá-la no nosso site. Esperamos que goste da newsletter! 👉 https://wildlifevetsnamibia.com/documentation/newsletters

Não hesite em contactar-nos, teremos todo o prazer em ajudá-lo.

Mariska
📞 +264 (0)81 382 8473
📧 [email protected]
🌐 www.wildlifevetsnamibia.com

25/11/2025

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
25 November 2025 – Samarkand, Uzbekistan

Namibia’s Rhino Custodians Urge Evidence-Based Decisions at COP20: Traceability Is No Longer a Valid Objection to Proposal 9

HoRN.nam — representing Namibia’s private rhino owners and custodians — is calling on CITES COP20 delegates to base decisions on current science and enforcement capability following the Secretariat’s recommendation to reject Namibia’s Proposal 9 on traceability grounds.

“The fear that rhino horn cannot be securely tracked is understandable — but it no longer reflects today’s reality. The systems exist, they work, and they are already protecting rhinos.”

Traceability Technology Already Working in Southern Africa

Southern Africa operates the world’s most advanced wildlife forensic tracking system:

RhODIS®️ – DNA Identification
• Developed by the University of Pretoria’s Veterinary Genetics Laboratory
• Over 40,000 rhino DNA profiles stored
• Used routinely in poaching investigations, law enforcement and court prosecutions
• Enabled convictions in South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Eswatini and Kenya

In more than 120 successful criminal investigations, RhODIS®️ has matched seized horns to individual rhinos and specific reserves — proving cross-border traceability

(see examples: https://oxpeckers.org/2014/09/dna-leads-in-rhino-prosecutions/
• https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/jan/08/rhinoceros-dna-database-successful-in-aiding-poaching-prosecutions
• https://news.mongabay.com/2018/01/rhino-dna-database-helps-officials-nab-poachers-and-traffickers/).

If a horn does not match its DNA profile and permit, it cannot enter the legal market.

Regulation Makes Laundering Harder — Not Easier

Proposal 9 strengthens enforcement by:
• Requiring DNA sampling, microchipping and full documentation
• Maintaining an unbroken chain of custody
• Allowing independent auditing and CITES verification
• Providing a transparent, inspectable supply chain

Illegality creates invisibility. Legality creates accountability.

Why Proposal 9 Supports Conservation

A regulated, verifiable trade:
• Exposes illegal horns immediately
• Increases the risk and cost of trafficking
• Funds security, veterinary care and rhino protection
• Rewards custodians who keep rhinos alive — not criminals who kill them

“At present, only poachers profit from rhino horn. Proposal 9 changes that.”

Namibia Is Ready to Implement

Proposal 9 applies only to horns from live, documented dehorning with complete DNA records, sourced from monitored rhino populations and managed under strict national and CITES oversight.

This is not theoretical. It is operational, proven and enforceable today.

HoRN.nam Statement

Namibia’s private rhino custodians fully support all three proposals submitted by the Government of the Republic of Namibia at COP20 in Uzbekistan. We stand united behind our delegation and are ready to implement these measures with transparency, scientific integrity and the highest conservation standards.

25/11/2025

Elephants use their massive ears for hearing, communication and thermoregulation. Flapping their ears creates a breeze, and warm blood flowing through the ear vessels cools down before returning to the body.

You know what else these big ears are useful for...? As a notebook! When we immobilize and move elephants, we note down important info, such as drug dosages, on their ears. When there are multiple elephants down and being loaded onto flatbed trucks, it is crucial to keep track.

By the time the elephant reaches the wake-up crate, the person that wakes the elephants up can check all the drugs that were given, thanks to the 'notebook' on the ear! Based on this info, the right amount of antidote can be given.

This elephant was relocated with his herd as part of a habitat conservation effort, to relief pressure of the area they were in. A huge thanks to Brian Leite - bfl_photography for this awesome photo!

24/11/2025

Dr Ulf is one of the Top-10 finalists of the Worldwide Vets Golden Star Award!! Being nominated was already a huge honour, but to be in the finals is truly special! We hope you will vote one more time for Ulf!

Voting is open from 14 Nov - 01 Dec, on 05 December the winner will be announced. Should Ulf win, £500 will go to our own chosen charity, which will be the Rhino Momma Project 🦏💚

Let’s bring the Golden Star Award to Namibia this year! Thank you so much in advance!

👉🏻 https://www.worldwide-vets.org/goldenstaraward

24/11/2025

The Directorate of Veterinary Services has issued a public notice confirming rabies in the Cape Fur Seal population near Walvis Bay. The first case was reported on 16 June at the Walvis Bay Lagoon, and now three more cases have been confirmed at Pelican Point.

Thanks Ocean Conservation Namibia for this clear and informative overview!